Chapter 51

When Feng Yiping arrived at his grandfather's house, it was quite coincidental that today happened to be the birthday of an elder from his grandfather's generation. Feng Yiping also called this elder "grandfather," and he always went to pay respects every year. The elder was 75 years old and had many children, and even more relatives and guests came to celebrate. Including the villagers, there were over forty tables set up.

Unlike many places where banquets are concentrated in one area, such as a threshing ground where all the tables are placed together, the tradition here was to hold the banquet in the homes of neighbors. The bowls and chopsticks were uniform, and each village had a few households that owned over a hundred sets of tableware. These households would pool their resources, and the host would invite them regardless of whether they brought gifts, and the gifts would be returned in full.

However, the tables and chairs for the banquet were a big issue, as they had to be gathered from various households. To be honest, every household had a dining table, but it was not easy to gather ten neatly arranged chairs suitable for guests. Plastic tables and chairs were not yet common in the countryside, and most households could not afford them. Therefore, many families had carpenters make large tables, along with four benches and a few high chairs, so that they could properly entertain a table of guests.

However, a new problem arose. Sitting on benches required coordination. More than once, someone stood up without saying anything, causing the person on the other end to fall flat on their face.

The banquet was an important social occasion in the countryside, where relatives who hadn't seen each other for a while could reconnect. Therefore, everyone dressed in their best clothes. Some people even borrowed watches and leather bags for the banquet. They would also carefully groom their hair and beards, which they might not usually pay much attention to.

Thus, it was particularly embarrassing to be suddenly thrown to the ground or land on all fours in front of all the relatives, dressed in one's finest. Fortunately, the banquet was also a place where manners were important. Even if someone was inwardly upset and cursing, they would still act politely in front of others.

Some people, however, were different. If they had a bad temper and felt they had lost face in front of others, especially after drinking, they might start a fight on the spot.

If the host was not lucky, a banquet might encounter several such incidents. Therefore, later on, each table would have a person close to the host who was skilled at handling people. This person would not only ensure that the guests ate and drank well but also prevent disputes among them.

Two tables were set up in the main hall of the grandfather's house, but the grandfather was not there. He should have been sitting at the main table with the birthday celebrant. Uncle San, who was in charge, added a stool and a set of tableware for Feng Yiping at his own table. Feng Yiping did not want to eat for free and asked Uncle San if he needed to contribute a gift. Uncle San said that the grandfather had already paid the gift money for Feng Zhenwu and the others. Feng Yiping thought it made sense; for such a relative's birthday, his family would definitely send a gift, even if they could not attend in person.

At this table, everyone was familiar. There were some villagers, and the remaining two were Uncle San's wife's brothers. The one sitting at the main position, Uncle San taught Feng Yiping to call "Uncle." Since Feng Yiping was a child, no one objected.

Speaking of seating arrangements, this was another issue that often troubled the host. If Feng Yiping had arrived before the banquet started, he would have had to deal with the seating arrangements. For the main and secondary positions at each table, the guests would be very polite, and it could take a long time to settle. For example, if the banquet was scheduled to start at 11:00 AM, some tables might still be arguing at 11:30 AM.

However, politeness had its limits. If someone felt they should be seated at the main position but was instead placed at a secondary position, they might feel insulted and leave in a huff. This was still considered mild; in some cases, people might even overturn the table.

In any case, in a single village or even a single hamlet, there were always a few banquets each year where such incidents occurred. While they did not happen at every banquet, they were common enough to be seen throughout the year.

By the time the banquet started, the initial fuss had already passed. Even if there had been any such incidents, Feng Yiping would not have seen them, which was a benefit of being late.

The dishes were served one by one. By the time Feng Yiping arrived, four dishes had already been served, and only some leftover soup remained in the bowls. The tableware was simple: a pair of chopsticks, a spoon, and a wine glass. There were no serving plates, bone plates, condiment dishes, soup bowls, or chopstick rests. Some people, concerned about hygiene, would place a chopstick horizontally in front of them and rest their chopsticks and spoon on it when not in use.

Feng Yiping thought about getting a bowl from the cabinet but decided against it. Everyone was using chopsticks to pick up food, and it would be unfair for him to use a bowl to store food.

During the breaks between dishes, everyone smoked and rested, as these banquets were particularly competitive when it came to good dishes. At the two tables in the grandfather's house, everyone was an adult, except for Feng Yiping. If there were children at the table, it would be even more lively.

Eating at such a banquet, the worst thing was to sit at a table with women who brought children. If there was a dish they liked, they would claim it for their children, and it was difficult to argue with a woman with a child, even if it made others unhappy.

Soon, a young server came in with a tray, and everyone helped by holding the empty bowls so he could place the dishes on the table. This time, two dishes were served: stir-fried meat with carrots and fried lotus root patties. The adults exchanged a few pleasantries, and Uncle San invited everyone to drink a round of wine. Then, they all picked up their chopsticks and started eating.

The bowls were large blue-and-white porcelain bowls, but they were not the expensive kind. They were the largest containers used in ordinary households. However, with ten people at each table, each person taking a bite, the stir-fried meat with carrots was quickly finished. After another round of drinks, the fried lotus root patties were also gone.

This reminded Feng Yiping of his first company trip after starting work. They had climbed a mountain all morning, and at noon, the restaurant in the scenic area was very busy, so the dishes were served one by one. The young men were all very hungry, and when the tomato and egg dish was served, it was gone in an instant, leaving only a bit of tomato juice. When the braised pork was served, only a few slices of green pepper remained. The mapo tofu was scooped up quickly, and those who were slow could only scrape the bottom of the plate.

Sometimes, the competition made people more hungry. After eating six or seven dishes, everyone, including the table with more women, felt even hungrier and kept urging for more dishes. The tour guide, seeing this, went to the kitchen and asked for a dish of Yangzhou fried rice and stir-fried rice cakes to be served to each table. The remaining dishes were not served one by one but all at once, which made the meal more normal.

The situation today was similar. Feng Yiping was very proactive and did not wait for Uncle San's help. He quickly grabbed two bites of food. This was not the time to be polite; if you were polite, the food would be gone. As long as you didn't look too greedy, no one would laugh at you, as everyone was in the same boat.

The young server came in again, running quickly. He had to run because everyone at the banquet had to act quickly, and the kitchen had to keep up. At the beginning, the dishes were plentiful, with each scoop being full. Later, the chef would use less in each scoop to ensure that there was always some left over for each table. This was because sometimes guests from far away or those who were delayed on the way might arrive late and need a separate table, and all the dishes had to be served again.

Additionally, after the guests left, the chef and the helpers in the kitchen, as well as the young servers, also needed to eat, so there had to be enough left over.

This time, the tray had four bowls, two for each table. The two bowls were the same: red bean soup, a sweet dish. Feng Yiping was not particularly fond of sweets and only took a shallow spoonful to show his appreciation.

When the server was collecting the bowls, he looked at the wine bottles and shook the earthen pot of rice wine. He said to Uncle San, "Uncle Guoxing, please encourage everyone to drink more. So far, the rice wine hasn't been touched much, and only two bottles of white wine have been opened. Don't be shy; we should not only eat well but also drink well."

The uncle sitting at the main position smiled and said, "That's true. I wanted to drink a few cups, but Uncle Guoxing didn't keep me company."

Uncle San immediately picked up the wine bottle and filled his own glass. "Everyone knows I don't drink much, but since you, my brother, said that, I'll drink with you today. Let's start with a toast, and everyone else can just have a sip."

Uncle San's two brothers-in-law, one drinking white wine and the other drinking rice wine, also got ready. "Don't worry; if Uncle Guoxing gets drunk, we'll take over. We three brothers will make sure you drink to your heart's content."

The uncle was joking. He drank a toast with Uncle San, then with Uncle San's two brothers-in-law, and finally with the whole table before bowing and asking for mercy.

However, having such a person at the table made the atmosphere more lively.

Thus, dish after dish was served. After the eleventh dish, fried fish, the young server came in again, but this time he walked more slowly and steadily because the tray seemed heavier. This time, the dishes were different; each bowl had another bowl inverted on top.

Everyone understood that there would be 24 dishes in total, as the inverted bowls indicated that the banquet was halfway through.

After the fried fish was served, the young server did not leave immediately. He stood aside, smoked a cigarette, and took a few pieces of the fried fish. Uncle San took the fried fish to the table, and the server took a few pieces.

These two dishes were temporarily left on the table, and no one touched them.

Gradually, the sound of firecrackers and the noise of people could be heard nearby. The sounds grew closer, and the atmosphere became more lively.

Thank you all for your support, which has helped this book reach the new book chart! I am very excited and happy, and I will continue to work hard. I hope everyone will stay with me and not abandon me!

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